Nicki, 36, surprised her 20.5 million followers by letting them know she was as huge fan of Avril and would blast her hits in the car on the way to her job at the US diner chain Red Lobster.

The 'Chun-Li' hitmaker added how "unbelievably talented" the 34-year-old pop rock star is. Nicki added to her own profile: 'I used to drive to my job [at] Red Lobster playing this woman's album for an hour straight everyday for months. Crying to "I'm with you", blasting "complicated" "things I'll never say" "nobody's fool" "sk8er boi". omg. #DumbBlonde tmrw. This woman is so unbelievably talented.'

'Dumb Blonde' is the third single to be taken from Avril's fifth studio album Head Above Water– the follow-up to her 2013 self-titled record – following on from the album title track and 'Tell Me It's Over'.

The record acts as the first since the 'Complicated' singer was diagnosed with Lyme Disease in 2014.The lead single details Avril's battle with the infection. She said previously: 'One night, I thought I was dying, and I had accepted that I was going to die. My mom laid with me in bed and held me. I felt like I was drowning. Under my breath, I prayed 'God, please help to keep my head above the water.' In that moment, the song writing of this album began. It was like I tapped into something. It was a very spiritual experience. Lyrics flooded through me from that point on.'

The 'Sk8er Boi' hitmaker developed the severe bacterial infection, which is passed on via infected ticks, at the beginning of 2014, but it wasn't until she flew to Las Vegas to celebrate her 30th birthday in the October that she realised she wasn't well.

She said at the time: 'I could barely eat, and when we went to the pool, I had to leave and go lie in bed. My friends asked, 'What's wrong?' I didn't know.'

After months of feeling lethargic and light headed, she finally got her diagnosis.

She explained: 'I had no idea a bug bite could do this...I was bedridden for five months. This was a wake-up call. I really just want to enjoy life from here on out.'Head Above Water is released on Fri 15 Feb.